Revenge Is Best Served
by Cerih
Summary: Jack finds a perfect moment to exact his revenge upon a mostly unsuspecting Ianto. Who will emerge victorious from their second encounter? Sequel to Some Like It Hot. Ianto/Jack.


Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, nor am I making any money from this.

Author's note: This is a sequel to 'Some Like It Hot', and while it can be read as a stand alone story, I recommend that you check out SLIH first. It gives a bit of context. The final part, The Great Game, is written and will follow in due course.

As ever, I remain grateful for my beta, Darcy58 for his comments and encouragement. My writing wouldn't be anywhere near as good without him. Indeed, this story was written purely because I thought he might like it, and for a great many reasons he already knows.

* * *

Revenge Is Best Served…

Ianto loved swimming. It had been his preferred form of exercise since he was a young boy and over the years he had developed a talent for it. An old mate of his, one he had helped out years before, knew of his hobby as well as his dislike of crowded public pools. In return for the past favour, he had given Ianto a key to the private gym and pool section of the apartment building he lived in, just outside the city centre. Ianto could come and indulge his passion whenever he wished.

Ianto preferred to do most of his swimming at night. Almost always the pool was deserted when he walked it. The gym and the sauna section were shut during the night, but the pool was available around the clock. Three times a week, usually well past midnight, Ianto dove into the water with barely a splash and spent an hour lost in the movement of his muscles and the steady pace of his breathing. The rest of the world ceased to exist as his world narrowed to just the water surrounding him and the air he pulled into his lungs. All the troubles and joys of Torchwood faded into the background as he swam back and forth, his eyes intent on only the black line at the bottom of the long pool. When he was in the water, his only emotion was infinite calm.

After an hour of strenuous exercise, he was panting as he pulled himself out of the pool and took off his goggles. The cavernous room was dimly lit - Ianto preferred to have just the underwater lights on when alone in the pool. As a result, the rest of the area was shrouded in shifting shadows, the ripples in the water casting patterns across the walls and ceiling. Usually Ianto gave the shifting darkness around him barely a glance, but this time he sensed something was different. Although he could see no one, he knew he was being watched. Taking two steps away from the edge of the pool, he tilted his head and waited patiently.

"You are a hard man to surprise." Jack stepped out of the shadows near the exit and slowly walked closer.

"Part of the job description, Sir."

It had been three weeks since Ianto had given Jack the unusual lesson in coffee making and since then he had been expecting Jack to do…something, to react in some way. He had caught Jack watching him with eyes filled with heat more than once, but that was as far as it had gone. Perhaps biding his time was part of Jack's revenge. Ianto had become more nervous as day after day of normalcy passed them by.

He felt exposed now, not just because of his relative state of undress, but because Jack was there at the source of much of his inner peace. He had thought no one in Torchwood knew that he swam, much less where he did so. It seemed that once again he had underestimated the depth of Jack's knowledge.

Ianto's thoughts were racing, but he kept his expression carefully neutral as they regarded one another across the dim space, both seemingly expecting the other to react first. It was Jack who broke the eye contact by letting his eyes wander up and down Ianto's dripping body. Ianto was not surprised to find Jack's gaze linger on his blue swimming trunks.

"Projecting your inner Bond there, Ianto?" Jack asked with smile.

"I may have been inspired by certain British spy whilst shopping for new swimwear, yes. Besides, I do serve Her Majesty and I do so in relative secrecy."

"I like it. I like it very much, Jones, Ianto Jones." Jack paused to consider his own words. "That has a nice ring to it. And you are equipped to make an excellent spy."

"I do think I have the poker face for it," Ianto agreed with a small nod.

"I was thinking more that you have the body for it," Jack corrected him with a wink. "No enemy spy – male or female – could resist your charms. You'd leave a trail of satisfied enemies wherever your espionage travels took you."

"Thank you for the compliment, I think." Ianto frowned a little. He considered the matter for a moment. "I'm fairly sure that's not quite what being a spy means."

"If you were a real life Bond, it certainly ought to be," Jack suggested with another wink, which earned him Ianto's trademark eye roll.

They regarded each other in silence for a moment, before Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Is there a Rift alarm that needs to be dealt with, or has something else come up? Weevil sightings, perhaps?"

Jack frowned. "No. Why?"

"Because you're here. I assume you tracked me down because something urgent requires our attention. I do have my phone on, but it's possible I didn't hear it, since I was swimming freestyle."

"No, nothing like that." Jack shook his head. "You're all off duty tonight."

"Then why are you here?" Ianto asked and added as an afterthought. "Sir."

Jack shrugged. "My curiosity. I've noticed that you leave several times a week with a distinct spring in your step and I wondered what put it there. I assumed you had a lover, but something didn't seem to fit that theory. So I tracked you down."

He let his eyes roam over Ianto's body again. "I must say, this was not what I expected."

"I would hate to be predictable and boring," Ianto remarked with a barely noticeable shrug of his shoulders.

Jack lifted his eyes to meet Ianto's and the heat in them washed over Ianto like a blast of hot air. "Oh, I can assure you that boredom is not the primary emotion I'm feeling right now."

As they continued to stare at each other, Ianto felt warmth pooling in his lower abdomen. It spread outwards until he was certain he was flushed and overheating. Jack had him rooted to the spot simply by looking at him. He would have expected Jack to look playful, but instead his expression was unusually serious. The emotions flickering in Jack's eyes sent shivers running down his spine. There was passion and lust in them, but also something darker, something not yet defined.

Ianto cleared his throat, scrabbling for the threads of the conversation to think of something coherent to say in return. "No?" was all he managed.

"No," Jack repeated, finally stalking closer. He stopped a few feet away; far enough that he could look at all of Ianto, but close enough that he did not miss a single detail in the shifting light. He began at Ianto's toes and slowly ranged his eyes up, lingering seemingly forever on the parts of Ianto's anatomy covered by wet, clinging fabric. Under such intense scrutiny, Ianto's body responded of its own accord, no matter how much he tried to focus on ice bergs and snow leopards facing extinction. Jack let out a low chuckle when he saw the reaction he was having and closed the remaining distance between them.

"No," he whispered again, so close that his breath washed over Ianto's lips when he spoke. Despite the proximity, no part of their bodies touched. "I'm definitely not bored."

Stepping away, Jack moved to stand behind Ianto, and ghosted his breath over his skin. Ianto shivered. Taking a deep breath, he fixed his eyes on the opposite wall, refusing to turn and look at Jack. "So… So what is your primary emotion, if not boredom?"

Jack chuckled again, causing the hairs on Ianto's neck to stand. He leaned forward and whispered directly into Ianto's ear: "I could tell you, but you'd only accuse me of harassment."

"And what you're doing now doesn't count as harassment?" Ianto asked, his voice more unsteady than he would have liked.

Ianto felt Jack's low laugh. "It's not harassment if you enjoy it."

"And wha-" Ianto cleared his throat before he was able to continue. "What makes you think I'm enjoying this?"

"Your body betrays you, Mr Jones." The words were again spoken into Ianto's ear and he was certain Jack's tongue darted out briefly to trace its outer edge.

Ianto tensed his muscles in an effort to remain still. It was hard for him to think, his mind filled with images of where the conversation might ultimately lead.

"I still maintain this is harassment," he managed to say, his voice strained.

Jack took a step back and Ianto could feel eyes burning a trail of heat across his skin as Jack scrutinised him from behind.

"This is not harassment," Jack started to reply and he moved to be impossibly close once more. "Think of it as payback."

"Payback for what?" Ianto asked, keeping his voice innocent.

"Oh, you know full well what I'm talking about," Jack growled.

"I'm not sure I do." Ianto chose to play dumb. "Are the archives too organised for you to find anything? Do you miss liaising with UNIT and Buckingham Palace? Would you prefer to do more of the mundane paperwork yourself?"

"Very good, Ianto, but it's your coffee making lesson that I'm referring to." Jack completed his circle around Ianto and they stood face to face once more.

Ianto quirked an eyebrow, grateful to have regained a measure of control over the conversation. "Did learning essential coffee brewing skills make you feel uncomfortable?"

Jack stepped closer, until their bodies were a breath away from touching. He flexed his hips slightly and smirked when Ianto let out a small groan in response, biting his lower lip to stay quiet. "Uncomfortable wasn't the word I was thinking of."

Any semblance of Ianto's control evaporated at the brief contact. He found very little consolation in the knowledge that Jack was not unaffected by the game they were playing. He fought against pulling Jack forward into a bruising kiss. The look on Jack's face made it plain that he knew exactly what Ianto was thinking and that it was just a matter of time before Ianto gave into his desire. That only made Ianto want to resist harder.

"You've waited a long time to make your whatever word you were thinking about known to me," Ianto spoke slowly through clenched teeth. "It's been weeks since that lesson."

"Just biding my time." Jack shrugged.

Ianto could feel the heat radiating from Jack - the warmth in stark contrast to the chill of the air. He muscles had been cooling during his verbal spar with Jack and he knew he would wake up stiff and aching the following morning if he was still much longer. He was not, however, about to give Jack the satisfaction of being the first to back down, certainly not when Jack seemed to think he was winning.

Perhaps he was, Ianto thought as his eyes strayed from Jack's eyes to his lips. The smile Jack was wearing was positively steamy and he made a great show of slowly licking his lips. He knew full well that Ianto could not help imagining that tongue running over his skin.

Ianto snapped out of his reverie when he realised it was his turn to say something. "Biding time for what?"

"Until a time such as today, when an opportunity presented itself to serve my revenge on a silver platter." Jack licked his lips again while he took his turn to stare at Ianto's lips. They were red and flushed from Ianto biting them. "You know what they say about revenge?"

Ianto quirked an eyebrow. "They say it's best served cold?"

"In this instance, I would argue that it's best served wet," Jack suggested. He extended a finger to stop the progress of a bead of water sliding down Ianto's chest.

Ianto bit back a groan as the sensation sent a sharp sliver of pleasure to his groin. Jack chuckled, watching Ianto's every move carefully so as not to miss a single response. Locking their eyes, Jack trailed the finger upward, tracing the path of the water bead across Ianto's torso and up his neck. A look of triumph flashed across his features when Ianto leaned very slightly into the touch. With some reluctance Jack broke the contact and brought his finger to his lips. His tongue darted out to lick the moisture. Ianto's lips parted on their own accord and Jack very nearly offered him the fingertip. At the last minute he let his hand drop, his fingers grazing lightly over Ianto's hip bone in the process.

Ianto's eye lids grew heavy as Jack filled his entire awareness. He could hardly deny he wanted Jack – in truth he ached for him. The game of teasing they were playing intensified his desire. He knew Jack was attempting to break his control, to undo him entirely. Part of him wanted to give in, just so he could finally taste Jack, have his hands skate over the taut muscles and feel Jack's solid weight against him. A larger part of him knew the inevitable release would be sweeter if he fought for control; if he made them both want the end result so much they could think of nothing else. And so he reined in his passion, even if the effort to do so made him pant.

To break the silence that had settled, to distract them both just for a moment, he raised an eyebrow. "I never had you down as a vengeful type."

Jack winked. "You bring out all sorts of unseen aspects of my personality."

"Glad to see I can have such a positive effect on you." Ianto returned, his tone dry.

"You certainly have a desirable effect on me," Jack replied, leaning closer to Ianto's ear. "But rather than calling it positive, I'd say it was more sinful."

"Never thought you were religious either." Ianto had to keep talking, because his best laid plans were crumbling a little more every time he felt Jack exhale against his neck.

"I'm not, as a general rule. I prefer to worship at a temple of flesh." Jack paused to inhale Ianto's scent. "And I seem to have found one that could inspire my religious fervour for quite some time."

Ianto seized the opportunity and turned on the offence, trying to unbalance Jack at least a little. "And are you certain you'd be…up for such a lengthy service?"

Jack did not miss a beat in response. "You're welcome to explore all the evidence of my commitment." Jack moved around Ianto again and pressed himself against Ianto's back. "I have no doubt you would undertake that task with the same thoroughness as you apply to all aspects of your life."

Ianto could no longer hold back a groan as he felt every inch of Jack against him. His knees buckled slightly, but Jack's hands on his hips steadied him.

"Jack." The name escaped from Ianto's lips; part protest, part plea.

"Ianto," Jack's response was coloured with all the desire he was feeling. He seemed to sense that Ianto was within inches of losing the final shreds of self-control and therefore Jack felt free to give voice to his own impatience.

The moment broke when a shiver ran through Ianto that had nothing to do with the game they had been playing. Jack looked at him more closely and saw arms that were covered in goose pumps. Taking a step back, he returned to face Ianto, who took a deep breath to compose himself.

"You're cold."

"And wet," Ianto pointed out evenly.

Jack took his cue from Ianto's tone and raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Perhaps you should go and warm up in the steam room. You did say you liked things hot and steamy." He grinned. "Besides, anything could happen, hidden away in all that mist."

"Can't do that, I'm afraid." Ianto shook his head with a rueful smile. "The steam room has been switched off for hours. One of the drawbacks of coming here so late. I'll have to get by with just a hot shower, although I imagine that will create a fair bit of steam too."

Ianto finally moved from the spot on which he had been rooted from the moment Jack had stepped out of the shadows. Leaning forward so that his still wet body brushed against Jack's he whispered, "Imagine just how much steam if I shower thinking about you." He turned and walked away.

Jack watched Ianto's wet form retreating with confident strides, his jaw slack with astonishment. He was both impressed and a little annoyed at how easily Ianto had turned the tables on him, even after the serious amounts of teasing and flirting Jack had put him through. Clearly Ianto Jones was a force to be reckoned with and Jack could not wait to get reckoning.


End file.
